Comics : Comic Reviews : Marvel Comics

Last Updated: Oct 20, 2009 - 7:25:21 AM

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Thunderbolts #110 By Josh Hechinger Jan 20, 2007 - 22:22:10 PM Publisher(s): Marvel Comics Writer(s): Warren Ellis Penciller(s): Mike Deodato, Jr. Inker(s): Mike Deodato, Jr. Cover Artist(s): Marko Djurdjevic

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“Captain America With ‘Screaming’ Voice Chip!”

Picture that, for a second. A little Captain America action figure, and maybe you press the star on his back and he screams like a little girl.

I think Warren Ellis is having some fun with this book, yes. Which is a good thing, because Ellis has a wicked sense of humor, and this is a premise that almost demands gallows humor.

The premise being that the government has looped together a Dirty Half Dozen of Marvel Comics villains, some of whom are quite barking mad, to hunt down superheroes that aren’t playing ball.

Which brings us back to the aforementioned Captain America figure, and the fact that Captain America of all people is the token villain in the Thunderbolts toyline commercial we see in the middle of the book. That sequence, more than any other, sums up the book’s approach: backward. Twisted, even.

Because this isn’t about Bad Guys as protagonists, or sympathetic villains looking for redemption. It’s a farce, a black comedy mix of 24 and The Dirty Dozen in spandex. It’s a train wreck: something utterly horrible that you can’t bear to NOT watch.

And I mean that in a good way.

But the fact that I think Ellis is going to deliver some fascinating goods on that premise is only half the reason this is going to be Must Read comics. The other half is one Mike Deodato, Jr. putting out some absolutely stunning artwork. Norman Osborn’s laying down of the law to Bullseye in the beginning is a textbook on how to set mood in a comic book, and the single shot of D-list hero Jack Flag in action is stunning. (He’s just diving out of a window. That’s it. That’s the whole shot. And it’s still stunning. The mind boggles.)

The downside is that the issue reads like the first half of a television pilot. It’s 100% set up. Well written and exquisitely drawn set up? Sure. But pure set up nonetheless. That said, based off the strength of this issue? The payoff is going to be loud, messy, and entirely worth it.

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